The Racquetball Trigger

In sports the thing that matters most is how an individual or team finish in the final stretch of the game. It’s a bit different for racquetball as the opening salvo of competitors can really dictate the quality and outcome of the game. Service is vital in this sport as it influences the attack of the player and his chances of achieving a point.

Throughout the evolution of the game enthusiasts have come up with varying forms and styles of serving the ball nevertheless there are two basic types. These are offensive and defensive. The offensive serve is commonly utilized during the first serve while the defensive type is performed more often during the second serve.

The drive is the more common form of offensive serve. The player that utilizes such technique aims to dish out the ball as low and fast as possible en route to striking either back corner. Then the ball must bounce twice before hitting either side wall or the back wall. Once the drive has become predictable the player may reach down his pocket and bring out several jam serves in his arsenal.

A jam serve is made in an attempt to catch the opponent sleeping by employing difficult angles in order to deliver the ball in areas of the court that are not usually maximized. The Z-serve tops the list of jam serves wherein a hit targets the front wall close to a side wall. This method allows the ball to bounce off the side wall in swift motion then onto the floor before ending up around 30 to 35 feet off the opposite side wall. The service spin is very critical in building up its unpredictability and difficulty to return. One good example is a side spin which may result into the ball bouncing parallel to the back wall.

Another service variation is the pinch serve which has a similarity with the drive serve. However, the ball nails the side wall in a lower orientation close to the serving box. When the player tunes up the proper spin the service lead to little ball bounce thus return becomes difficult. There can even be a case wherein a successfully executed service may end up striking the side wall before the service line and then the ball would end up hitting the court area after the service line.

Whenever a player misses out on the first try a defensive serve comes into the picture. These serves do not aspire for flashy aces but emphasis is given on causing a weak return thereby giving the offensive player a higher chance to score. The common mark of defensive serves is the lobbing technique.

Racquetball is all about deception. The lob variations of the defensive serve are utilized in order to place the opponent in situations that would render him unable to set up an effective return. The plain lob serve provides the other player with very little area to work out a good solid response. A junk lob is performed in order to situate the landing of the ball close to the side wall in between the dotted line and back wall. It deceives the opponent into thinking that the server has laid up an easy return but in reality the server is getting ready to stack up a powerful shot.